The Kirkus Prize is one of the richest literary awards in the world, with a prize of $50,000 bestowed annually to authors of fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ literature. It was created to celebrate the 81 years of discerning, thoughtful criticism Kirkus Reviews has contributed to both the publishing industry and readers at large. Books that earned the Kirkus Star with publication dates between November 1, 2014, and October 31, 2015 (see FAQ for exceptions), are automatically nominated for the 2015 Kirkus Prize, and the winners will be selected on October 15, 2015, by an esteemed panel composed of nationally respected writers and highly regarded booksellers, librarians and Kirkus critics.

KIRKUS REVIEW

Scheherazade as a goose? Steer follows up Just One More Story (1999) with four more retold folktales, presented in small illustrated booklets glued to the pages of a framing story. Seized by a fox, a goose puts off her demise with a series of not-exactly-canonical tales: a kazoo-playing “Pied Fox of Hamelin” rids a town of a plague of ducks; Ali Baa Baa (another fox) literally fleeces a gang of big bad sheep; a fox prince finds a princess who doesn’t care how many peas are in their bed; and after singeing a bad-tempered fox “Three Little Chicks” in a house of bricks go on to live happily ever after. So does the goose, for by the final tale’s end, she’s put her captor to sleep, and is last seen, in Moseng’s bright, cheery cartoons, dancing exuberantly away from the fox’s lair. To get the full comic effect here, children will need to know the originals—but even those who don’t are apt to enjoy the novelty format. (Folktales. 5-8)

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